Secrets Behind Closed Doors
1091 Words
Aria barely slept.
The guest room was larger than her entire apartment, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the grounds of Blackwood Estate. The bed was impossibly comfortable, yet every time she closed her eyes, she saw the masked men chasing her through the streets or Damien stepping in front of a bullet without hesitation.
By dawn, she gave up trying to sleep.
After changing into the fresh clothes Thomas had arranged for her, she quietly stepped into the hallway. The mansion was peaceful, its silence broken only by the distant ticking of an antique grandfather clock.
She followed the aroma of freshly brewed coffee until she reached the dining room.
Damien was already there.
He stood beside the window, dressed in a charcoal suit, reading several documents while drinking black coffee. The bandage beneath his rolled-up sleeve was the only sign of the previous night’s attack.
When he noticed her, he set the papers aside.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Aria replied. “I didn’t expect you to be awake this early.”
“I rarely sleep past five.”
She smiled.
“I thought CEOs needed more rest than everyone else.”
“We do.”
“But you ignore that advice?”
“Usually.”
A faint laugh escaped her.
For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, she felt almost normal.
Thomas entered carrying breakfast.
“I hope these are to your liking, Miss Stone.”
The table was soon covered with fresh fruit, eggs, toast, tea, and coffee.
Aria stared at the amount of food.
“This is enough to feed a family.”
Thomas smiled politely.
“Mr. Blackwood prefers his guests to feel at home.”
She looked at Damien.
“You didn’t have to do all this.”
“I know.”
She sat down across from him.
For several minutes, they ate in comfortable silence.
Eventually Aria looked up.
“I’ve been thinking.”
Damien raised an eyebrow.
“About?”
“Everything.”
She placed her cup on the table.
“Those men knew my name. They knew where I lived. My landlord said they wanted me to remember who I really am.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“What if they’re right?”
Damien remained silent.
“What if there’s something about my past that I don’t know?”
He chose his words carefully.
“Have you ever noticed gaps in your childhood memories?”
She frowned.
“I remember growing up with my grandmother after my parents died.”
“And before that?”
She tried to think.
“I remember my parents… birthdays… school…”
Her voice slowly faded.
The harder she searched her memories, the stranger they became.
“It’s odd.”
“What is?”
“I can’t remember anything before I was five.”
Damien’s expression darkened.
“What do you mean?”
“I know I had a life before then, but every memory feels… blurry.”
She pressed her fingers against her temples.
“It’s like someone erased part of my childhood.”
Before Damien could respond, Lucas entered the dining room carrying a tablet.
“I’m sorry to interrupt.”
Damien stood.
“What did you find?”
Lucas glanced briefly at Aria before speaking.
“Our cybersecurity team searched Richard Collins’ company accounts.”
“And?”
“We recovered several deleted files.”
Damien folded his arms.
“Were they financial records?”
“No.”
Lucas placed the tablet on the table.
“They were personnel files.”
Aria looked confused.
“Personnel files?”
Lucas nodded.
“Someone inside Blackwood International has been secretly investigating employees.”
Damien frowned.
“For what purpose?”
Lucas swiped across the screen.
“Most files contained ordinary background checks.”
He stopped on another page.
“But one file was different.”
He turned the tablet toward Aria.
Her photograph filled the screen.
Beneath it were dozens of documents.
School records.
Medical reports.
Employment history.
Copies of identification documents.
Aria stared at them in disbelief.
“Why would my company have all this?”
Lucas answered quietly.
“Because someone has been watching you for years.”
A chill ran through the room.
Damien looked at the dates.
The oldest report had been created eighteen years earlier.
Aria would have been only seven years old.
His expression became dangerously calm.
“This wasn’t Richard’s idea.”
Lucas nodded.
“No.”
“Someone ordered him to monitor her.”
“Exactly.”
Aria looked from one man to the other.
“I don’t understand.”
Her breathing became uneven.
“I’ve never done anything important.”
Lucas looked at her sympathetically.
“That’s what makes this so strange.”
Before anyone could continue, Thomas hurried into the dining room.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
Damien immediately recognized the urgency in his voice.
“What is it?”
“We have visitors.”
“I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“They insisted they couldn’t wait.”
Damien walked toward the entrance hall.
Through the security cameras mounted outside the gates, he saw three black luxury vehicles parked at the entrance.
Each displayed the silver crest of the Werewolf Council.
His eyes narrowed.
Lucas looked over his shoulder.
“They’re here already.”
“So it seems.”
“The Council never visits without a reason.”
Damien already knew that.
He stepped outside just as the gates opened.
Three distinguished men walked through, each wearing expensive suits.
The oldest stepped forward.
“Alpha King Damien Blackwood.”
Damien inclined his head politely.
“Council Elder Marcus.”
The elderly man didn’t return the greeting.
“We’ve come for the girl.”
Inside the mansion, Aria stood at the hallway entrance, unable to hear every word but sensing the sudden tension outside.
She watched Damien’s posture become rigid.
Marcus spoke again.
“Our sources confirm that your fated mate has been found.”
Damien’s face remained expressionless.
“That information is confidential.”
“It stopped being confidential the moment she was discovered.”
Marcus took another step forward.
“If the rumors are true…”
His voice grew colder.
“…then Aria Stone is not simply your mate.”
He paused.
“She may be the last living member of the Royal Bloodline.”
Silence fell across the estate.
Damien’s wolf growled inside him.
No one was supposed to know that.
Someone had leaked the secret.
And if the Werewolf Council already knew…
Then their enemies almost certainly did too.
- Writer
